So, there are Nintendo+Apple fans as demonstrated by this plead on Facebook and their website to get Nintendo to develop for phones. (Seem more for Apple products specifically.) The person gives the same tired arguments such as handhelds are dieing and not wanting to carry more things, but what stood out to me the most was at one point the person said they should add controls to the phone or a phone features to their handhelds. Something similar to a discussion here time ago. 218 likes on Facebook at the time of posting.

The mobile industry is and has been analyzed by Nintendo since the year 2000 - they had a deal with Nokia to develop a prototype Nintendo Phone and the R&D went far enough to create a prototype device, which later got the red light from the Director's Board. That said, I'm sure it left a legacy behind it and Nintendo just might jump in when they believe "the technology is there".

I don't see why people are so afraid of the somewhat inevitable merger of the two markets. Smartphones are gaining in power, connectivity is a big thing as of late and handheld consoles will require *extensive* use of 4G networks, sooner or later. This doesn't mean that consoles will somehow become "worse" - they'll be pretty much the same as they are now.

I don't see why people are so afraid of the somewhat inevitable merger of the two markets. Smartphones are gaining in power, connectivity is a big thing as of late and handheld consoles will require *extensive* use of 4G networks, sooner or later. This doesn't mean that consoles will somehow become "worse" - they'll be pretty much the same as they are now.

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I suppose - I just don't see the main advantage. Sure, cellular networks would be nice for internet, maybe even online gaming on the go, but it'd just ramp up costs further. It'll probably have additional subscription fees as well, and if you want to use it as a phone without having a headset glued to your head the handheld design will be quite heavily influenced as well. Most people who want a phone won't buy it because it's bigger and more annoying to carry around a 3DS than an iPhone (and less hipster, but that's beside the point) and most people who want a gaming handheld would prefer a cheaper device.

I don't see why people are so afraid of the somewhat inevitable merger of the two markets. Smartphones are gaining in power, connectivity is a big thing as of late and handheld consoles will require *extensive* use of 4G networks, sooner or later. This doesn't mean that consoles will somehow become "worse" - they'll be pretty much the same as they are now.

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I am not against the idea. I just find it a bit weird though because Nintendo has dismissed the Idea numerous times.
But again if they do it, then there's only one logical explanation...

2012!!! THE YEAR WHEN HUMANITY DOES INEXPLICABLE THINGS!
Don't ask, a lot has happened this year that made me think this way. XD

I suppose - I just don't see the main advantage. Sure, cellular networks would be nice for internet, maybe even online gaming on the go, but it'd just ramp up costs further. It'll probably have additional subscription fees as well, and if you want to use it as a phone without having a headset glued to your head the form factor will be quite heavily influenced as well.

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I don't agree with the "ranking up the costs" argument - the contemporary designs of handhelds already feature everything they need except for a GSM module, and those are *cheap*. Moreover, I don't think it would require as many "form factor" changes as people think it would. Even if the clamshell design was not dumped by Nintendo, they can easily mount a "Twist Screen".

...so no fear of using a slider there - the contemporary design for a "smartphone face" can still be used without sacrificing the clamshell.

I think that the overlap between usual nintendo customers and the usual smartphone/tablet buying people is way too small for nintendo to take the risk of making such a device.

Though I suppose it would be nice if someone would bring down Apple's reign of terror that keeps the prices extra high, the competition extra sued and that shits out the exact same product once every year.

As long as such devices are as ridiculously expensive as they currently are (and, thus, unavailable to the VAST majority of nintendo's usual customers) they are not even remotely worth the development cost.

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They're more expensive because they're beefier than the average Nintendo console - this doesn't mean that they have to be. I'm guessing Nintendo would use a proprietary system, and as I said, it would not rank up the costs.

Would anyone really want a 2 cm thick smartphone when everything is supposed to be as thin and light as possible though? Oh, and this is not an argument but a question: why is the 3G Vita 50 bucks more expensive than the regular version if you only need to add some cheap stuff for smartphone-like functionality? Or is incorporating 3/4G pretty expensive and are you just assuming Nintendo will use this in their handhelds anyway?

Oh, and a Nintendo smartphone App Store would need to be FAR more lenient on new content than Nintendo has always been. It's a huge switch for Ninty and I don't see them doing that anytime soon.

why is the 3G Vita 50 bucks more expensive than the regular version if you only need to add some cheap stuff for smartphone-like functionality? Or is incorporating 3/4G pretty expensive and are you just assuming Nintendo will use this in their handhelds anyway?

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The Vita 3G incorporates both a GSM module and a GPS module. As you can see, it "ramped up" the costs by whole $50 (for the customer, not for Sony, of course). Can't call that expensive.

By the way, not everything has to be "thin" - not when it's meant to have a gamepad attached. Slider smartphones are still manufactured for those who want a keyboard or a gamepad. (See: HTC's and Sony/Sony Ericsson's line-up of phones). Certain features should not be sacrificed in a handheld gaming device - it's simple as that.

why is the 3G Vita 50 bucks more expensive than the regular version if you only need to add some cheap stuff for smartphone-like functionality? Or is incorporating 3/4G pretty expensive and are you just assuming Nintendo will use this in their handhelds anyway?

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The Vita 3G incorporates both a GSM module and a GPS module. As you can see, it "ranked up" the costs by whole $50 (for the customer, not for Sony, of course). Can't call that expensive.

By the way, not everything has to be "thin" - not when it's meant to have a gamepad attached. Slider smartphones are still manufactured for those who want a keyboard or a gamepad. (See: HTC's and Sony/Sony Ericsson's line-up of phones). Certain features should not be sacrificed in a handheld gaming device - it's simple as that.

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50$ on a device that's 170$ (using the 3DS as example again) seems like a pretty big increase to me. Also I said ramped, not ranked - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramp_up - although it's possible you can't use that word there. I'm not a native English speaker, you know >_>

50$ on a device that's 170$ (using the 3DS as example again) seems like a pretty big increase to me. Also I said ramped, not ranked - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramp_up - although it's possible you can't use that word there. I'm not a native English speaker, you know >_>

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You are correct, mr.Grammar Nazi. Thanks, I fixed my post.

As for your "$50 is a lot" argument, this $50 dollars makes you save money rather than lose it. Without said functionality, you'd have to buy a phone, and the price of said phone would most likely be higher than $50.

You get 4G/GPS functionality for $50 - no more, no less. I can't argue with that. Future designs could also include the phone function, and we're on about the fututre, aren't we?

50$ on a device that's 170$ (using the 3DS as example again) seems like a pretty big increase to me. Also I said ramped, not ranked - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramp_up - although it's possible you can't use that word there. I'm not a native English speaker, you know >_>

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You are correct, mr.Grammar Nazi. Thanks, I fixed my post.

As for your "$50 is a lot" argument, this $50 dollars makes you save money rather than lose it. Without said functionality, you'd have to buy a phone, and the price of said phone would most likely be higher than $50.

You get 4G/GPS functionality for $50 - no more, no less. I can't argue with that. Future designs could also include the phone function, and we're on about the fututre, aren't we?

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I have a 30$ phone so that's not necessarily true, but I'm an exception Oh, and I didn't mean to be a grammar nazi, I thought you were the one being a grammar nazi because maybe I shouldn't have used the phrase "ramped up". As for future phone functions: I suppose. I just don't think it'll work with Nintendo's current online functionality. Let's see them increase the user-friendliness of their eShop first. I don't think having an App Store where it's pretty much impossible to find what you're looking for unless you know the exact name is a good idea. It also needs to be MUCH easier for devs to get their apps on there. Current Nintendo is just too restrictive to work with a smartphone handheld.